Centre for Conservation

The British Library Centre for Conservation was officially opened by HRH The Princess Royal in October 2007. The Centre offers the best possible conditions for the conservation of books and for audio engineering and houses all the Library's book conservation and sound archiving staff.

The top two floors of the three-storey building feature four main book conservation studios and a number of additional rooms for specialised conservation techniques. The technical operations of the Sound Archive occupy a range of studios for recording and transfer of Sound Archive material, as well as laboratory and workshop areas on the lower ground floor.

In addition, the building enables the Library to offer much-needed training opportunities for conservation professionals, as well as allowing the visiting public access through tours of the studios, demonstrations and lectures. The main entrance is through the Library building on the first floor, across a newly extended terrace, which has been designed specifically for public access. Visitors enter the Learning and Visitor Centre comprising a display area with an initial, interactive introduction to conservation, and an adjacent 40-seat capacity seminar room.

We are extremely grateful to all who have generously supported the project, including:

• The Exilarch's Foundation
• The Heritage Lottery Fund
• The Wolfson Foundation
• The Dorset Foundation
• The Foyle Foundation
• The Garfield Weston Foundation
• The Paccar Foundation
• The Friends of the British Library
• The Fidelity UK Foundation
• The Clothworkers' Foundation
• The Annenberg Foundation
• The John R Murray Charitable Trust
• The P F Charitable Trust
• The American Trust for the British Library
• The Headley Trust
• The Mercers' Charitable Foundation
• The Rayne Foundation
• The Band Trust
• Bloomsbury plc

More about the British Library Centre for Conservation